Paying Lectures With Pinjol Means Teaching Debt Communities

Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) is collaborating with online loan platform Danacita for tuition payments. (STB site)

JAKARTA Payment for tuition fees with online loans (pinjol) which is the policy of the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) is in the spotlight. The campus of a well-known country is said to be inhumane because it encourages students to fall into the loan to pay tuition fees.

This news stems from a story on social media X, related to ITB students who cannot continue their studies because they still have arrears in single tuition fees (UKT).

When it is difficult to pay tuition fees, the campus recommends applying for online loans through the Danacita platform. It was an X account named @ITBfess that first disseminated the UKT payment scheme through loans.

Budi, not his real name, claims to be one of the ITB students who is threatened with not being able to continue his studies because he has UKT arrears. He admitted that in the middle of his college trip, his parents had economic difficulties.

While confused because he was threatened with not being able to complete the study, the campus advised him to apply for an online loan through the Danacita platform. Because he was forced to, he finally applied for a loan to cover his tuition debt. Budi admitted, if calculated, the difference in debt and money that had to be paid reached 20 percent.

Launching Danacita's website, every loan for 12 months installments is subject to a monthly platform fee of 1.75 percent and a approval fee of 3 percent. Meanwhile, for six months of installments, the platform's monthly fee is 1.6 percent and the approval fee is 3 percent.

However, ITB is not the only campus in collaboration with Danacita. Tarumanegara University, Muhammadiyah University, Jakarta, and various campuses and course institutions are recorded as establishing partnerships with Danacita.

Anjaaaay, disuruh pinjol sama itb!Kami segenap civitas akademik ITB mengucapkan "SELAMAT MEMBAYAR CICILAN BESERTA BUNGANYA" https://t.co/9SGVXldqB6 pic.twitter.com/oghSBS1ABH

— ITBfess 🐘 🌱 (@itbfess) January 25, 2024

Anjaaaay, disuruh pinjol sama itb!Kami segenap civitas akademik ITB mengucapkan "SELAMAT MEMBAYAR CICILAN BESERTA BUNGANYA" https://t.co/9SGVXldqB6 pic.twitter.com/oghSBS1ABH

Danacita itself is a platform with funding solutions for students, students, and professionals to study at higher education institutions and vocational programs.

"We aim to provide access to education for all by providing affordable education funding for students, students, and professionals who want to increase their capacity," Danacita wrote on the official website.

According to the National Coordinator of the Indonesian Education Monitoring Network (JPPR) Ubaid Matraji, the UKT payment scheme using loans has the potential to ensnare students in debt that when they fail to pay can lead to acts of intimidation.

For Ubaid, if it is true that ITB is conducting official cooperation with third parties and implementing such a scheme, then it is tantamount for the campus to carry out a 'extortion'

bajigurr, solusi yang ditawarin itb! , gede lagi anjir bunganya pic.twitter.com/MfHzFCgFzC

— ITBfess 🐘 🌱 (@itbfess) January 24, 2024

bajigurr, the solution offered by itb!, big again with the flowers pic.twitter.com/MfHzFCgFzC

"People who can't clearly afford it have the right to be helped, but they don't. Made a loan gap so that they are systemically in debt and cannot pay, let alone intimidation, it's the art of extortion," Ubaid said firmly.

"Because it is done systemically and there are many victims. This is clearly extortion," he added.

Meanwhile, public policy observer Trubus Rahardiansyah said ITB policy provides the option of making UKT payments through inappropriate loans. He said this policy actually taught people to be entangled in loans.

"This is not the right policy, this means educating people to get caught in a loan. Not to mention the concerns about illegal loans," Trubus said when contacted by VOI.

In addition, students are also threatened with not being focused because they are in debt, he added.

Trubus said students who were unable to pay UKT should be the responsibility of educational institutions. Moreover, ITB is included in the category of PTN-BH or State Universities with Legal Entities, so that as an ITB company it should be able to provide CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) or scholarships for underprivileged students.

"This ITB is a well-known campus, in ITB class, it is definitely easier to make money by collaborating," added Trubus, lecturer at the Faculty of Law, Trisakti University.

Agus Pambagio, a public policy observer, also spoke up regarding the news. According to him, it is inappropriate for any university to provide UKT payment options with loans.

There are several reasons why Agus disagrees if the campus cooperates with the loan platform to help students who have difficulty paying tuition fees.

First, this loan is official and not official or illegal. There are thousands of these illegal ones, and this must be watched out for. Second, many universities have collaborated with loan platforms, so ITB is not the only one, and this is a problem," Agus told VOI.

"Third, where do students get money to pay loans? Campuses don't deserve to use loans. Loan for income people, where do students want their income from?" he added.

Agus said, as an ITB-class campus, it should be able to provide scholarships for underprivileged students. According to him, universities can earn money from other sources such as alumni and company CSR bonds.

"Don't let students who have entered, then come out just because they are constrained by costs," Agus emphasized.